It’s a medical mystery that has been developing for at least a decade: thyroid cancer not breast, prostate, lung, or colon cancer is the fastest increasing cancer among women and men in the United States.

And scientists don’t know why.

In fact, according to new data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), thyroid cancer diagnoses have increased at a rate of 6.5 percent a year from 1997 to 2006.

The alarming trend has largely gone unnoticed. Now, a new project by American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop an organization founded by journalism professors Charles Lewis and Wendell Cochran at AU’s School of Communication is helping shine a light on the issue.

The project composed of more than four original stories, several video interviews, and a fact sheet pulls together the various medical research pieces of the thyroid cancer increase puzzle. It includes data from the NCI, the American Thyroid Association, the Mayo Clinic, and numerous published studies.

Caroline Stetler, an AU journalism graduate student and a Workshop staff writer, spearheaded the project, which is available on the Workshop’s Web site. She found that as recently as three years ago, some researchers thought the increase in diagnoses could be explained by improved methods of detection; ultrasound, not widely used in hospitals until the early 1980s, has allowed physicians to find cancerous thyroid nodules smaller than 1 centimeter.

“There is now proof the increasing rate is not just a reflection of improved detection,” said Stetler, a survivor of thyroid cancer. “But researchers say they really don’t know what is causing the increase.”

Scientists are pointing to factors such as heredity, chemical pollutants, diet, obesity, and increased radiation exposure via CT scans.

Stetler’s research for the project led her to a study published in the March issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology and Biomarkers and Prevention.

The study, coauthored by Dr. Elaine Ron, a senior investigator at NCI, focused on papillary cancer the most common type of thyroid cancer, increasing consistently among all racial and ethnic groups.

Ron and her coauthors found that from 1980 to 2005, the number of larger tumors those bigger than at least 2 centimeters increased, disproving the improved detection theory as tumors of this size are generally found during a physical neck exam, not during ultrasound or other image screening tests.

Despite the unexplained increase in thyroid cancer, the illness is highly treatable and the majority of people diagnosed with it survive; the mortality rate has remained stable at 0.5 percent per year.

Stetler’s project began last fall as an assignment for the Indepth Reporting class, offered by AU’s School of Communication and taught by Workshop Executive Editor Charles Lewis.

“This is the first student project the Workshop has published,” Wendell Cochran, senior editor, said. “We think it sheds light on a large and growing health issue that has, unfortunately, received little coverage by journalists.”

The Investigative Reporting Workshop conducts significant national and international investigative reporting projects, with a particular focus on multimedia, and studies and incubates new models for doing and delivering investigative journalism.

American University’s School of Communication is a laboratory for professional education, communication research and innovative production in the fields of journalism, film and media arts and public communication, working across media platforms and with a focus on public affairs and public service.

Source: American University

A potential development in mouth cancer treatment is to be welcomed, says the organiser of the annual Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign
The British Dental Health Foundation has welcomed results of studies at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University*.

Research has suggested an anti-cancer compound could help treat mouth cancer, a disease which kills one person every five hours in the UK. Studies showed that the compound killed off mouth cancer cells removed from head and neck cancer patients.

Currently just half of those diagnosed with mouth cancer survive beyond five years. Nearly 5,000 are diagnosed in the UK each year.

The new studies - found when scientists tested a drug for its effects on blood cancer and reported in yesterday’s online edition of the Journal of Pathology - will be hoped to mark a significant breakthrough.

The experimental drug involved new chemotherapy agents known as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors - which limit cell growth.

Lead researcher, Einstein clinician Richard Smith, M.D. said: “This report shows that an HDAC inhibitor is effective on head and neck cancer cell lines, and that is the first step toward use in humans.”

Foundation chief executive Dr Nigel Carter received the report enthusiastically saying: “Such news, though very early days, is to be welcomed as the low long-term survival rate from mouth cancer makes the disease one of the deadliest.

“Currently the best chance of beating the cancer comes from early detection, improving survival rates to more than 90 per cent, so it is important to follow the slogan of the Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign: ‘If in doubt, get checked out.’

“Though this research could prove important it is vital that dentists and health professionals continue to perform oral screenings and educate on how to look out for signs of oral cancer. Maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle also helps to prevent problems developing.”

The most common causes of oral cancer are smoking and drinking alcohol to excess, linked to 80 per cent of cases. Research has recently suggested that the human papillomavirus (HPV). transmitted via oral sex, could soon become most common causes of the disease.

Quitting smoking, cutting down on booze and eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables lowers the risk of mouth cancer.

Self-examination is another simple way of looking after yourself. Early warning signs of mouth cancer include ulcers which do not heal within three weeks, red and white patches in the mouth and unusual lumps and swellings in the mouth and neck.

Mouth Cancer Action Month 2009 takes place November 1st to November 30th. For more information go online at http://www.mouthcancer.org or call the National Dental Helpline on 0845 063 1188.

‘The histone deacetylase inhibitor LBH589 inhibits expression of mitotic genes causing G2/M arrest and cell death in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines’;
Smith, R., Prystowsky, M. et al;
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University 2009.

Link to abstract

Source
British Dental Health Foundation

Roswell Park Cancer Institute nurses developed an accessible visual - tool an algorithm based on nursing experience and roadmaps - to enhance the delivery of chemotherapy.

Darryl Somayaji, MSN, RN, CCRC, Department of Nursing at RPCI, will discuss “Oncology Nurses Transforming Care: Rapid Response Steps to Success by Using a Chemotherapy Administration Process Improvement Algorithm,” at the Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society, April 30 - May 3 in San Antonio, TX.

Chemotherapy orders are multifaceted, and the process of administration can be complicated for both novice and experienced oncology nurses. The creation of a “Rapid Response Steps to Success” algorithm enhances the existing roadmap process and guides the oncology nurse through the administration of chemotherapy. The algorithm promotes patient medication safety, allows for the inclusion of care strategies from the nursing staff at the bedside, and provides a useful tool for all nurses at every level of oncology experience as they navigate through either a paper or paperless chemotherapy order system.

“These innovative roadmaps help to standardize approaches to the delivery of chemotherapy, reduce medication errors and assist in the anticipation and management of adverse events that can be associated with chemotherapy. This process also encourages nursing communication so treatment delivery is tailored to the individual needs of the patient, which ultimately maximizes therapeutic benefits,” said Somayaji.

Nurse collaborators on this Roswell Park paper were Mary Ann Long, MS, RN, OCN; Katie Newell, RN, BSN; Maeghan Valint, RN, BSN; Regina Barth, RN; and Jeanette Jackson-Rose, RN.

Source
Roswell Park Cancer Institute

RIDGEWOOD, N.J., April 29 — Women whose breast cancers were characterized by alterations in the TOP2A gene experienced better survival with anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy than with other regimens, researchers found.